Motor driven toothbrush



s p 7, 1940. N. ELMORE 2,215,031

MOTOR DRIVEN TOOTHBRUSH Filed Feb. 27, 1939 Patented Sept. 17, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

This invention relates to motor driven brushes, and its general object is to provide a brush of that character which is primarily designed for cleaningteeth, in that it includes an elongated 5 head conforming to the shape of the usual toothbrush head, but the tufts of bristles of my brush are carried by motor driven movable means, with the result the brush head can be held stationary at various places within the mouth for cleaning teeth and removing matter from crevices therein thatmay be inaccessible to the bristles of the usual brush, and in any event in a more efficient and thorough manner than would be possible by the latter brush, as well as with minimum effort on the part of the user.

A further object is to provide a motor driven toothbrush that preferably has the motor thereof separate therefrom, but connected thereto by suitableflexible means and the motor includes means for mounting the same on suitable supporting means, so that the motor will not inter: fere with the free use of the brush.

Another object is to provide a motor driven toothbrush that is simple in construction, in-

expensive to manufacture, and extremely efficient in operation, use and service.

' This invention also consists in certain other features of construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, to be hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing and specifically pointed out 'in the appended claim.

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to the accompanying drawing wherein like characters denote like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my motor driven toothbrush and illustrates the motor thereof together with the connecting means between the 40 motor and. brush for driving the latter.

Figure 2 is a view looking toward the bristle side of my brush with parts broken away and in section.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken approximately on line 3-3 of Figure 2, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to the drawing in detail, it will be noted that the head is of the usual fiat elongated formation and includes a body I recessed to provide a chamber 2 extending longitudinally thereof, and the chamber is closed by a cover plate 3 held secured to the body by screws 4.

The chamber is provided with what may be termed scalloped side walls to provide rounded recesses throughout the length of the chamber,

as best shown in Figure 2, and mounted for rotation in bearing openings in the body and cover plate 3 are stub shafts 5 arranged in row formation upon diametrically opposite sides of the longitudinal center of the head, and each shaft has 5 secured thereto a worm gear 6 that extends into the rounded recesses of the chamber, as clearly shown in Figure 2. The enlarged bearing por tions or journals of the stub shafts that are mounted in the bearing openings in the cover 10 plate 3, as best shown in Figure 3, each have sockets therein within which are fixed tufts 1 of bristles that are outwardly flared from the. shafts, as best shown in Figure 3, and in order to rotate the tufts 1 through the medium of the 1 gears 6 there is provided a worm 8 formed on or otherwise secured to the shaft 9 that. extends along the longitudinal center of the head, with the worm 8 meshing with the gears 6, and one end of the worm shaft is reduced and extends into so a bearing opening arranged in the outer rounded end of the head, while the opposite end portion of the shaft 9 extends through a bore in the shank l0 which is provided with a threaded socket in its outer end, as clearly shown in Figure 2. 2i

Threadedly mounted in the socket of the shank I0 is the reduced inner end of the handle ll of my brush and the handle is provided with a bore extending along the longitudinal center thereof, within which is disposed a bearing sleeve l2 for 30 a stem shaft l3, the latter having toothed clutch members It secured to the ends thereof and the clutch member at the inner end meshes with a clutch member l5 secured to the outer end of the worm shaft 9, when the handle is secured to the a shank, as will be apparent.

The motor for driving my toothbrush is indicated by the reference numeral l6 and is preferably of the reversible type. It is controlled by a switch l1 and preferably has secured to the 40 casing thereof a suction cup I 8, for mounting the motor with respect to any suitable supporting means. Suitably secured to and extending from the motor is a flexible shaft l9 incased in a flexible casing 20 and the outer end of the shaft l9 5 has a toothed clutch member 2| secured thereto for meshing with the clutch member on the outer end of the shaft l3. Swiveled on the flexible shaft IQ for disposal about the clutch member 2| is a cap nut 22 to be threaded in the outer 50 end of the handle II for connecting the clutch member 2| with the clutch member [4 on the outer end of the shaft l3.

From the foregoing description and disclosure in the drawing, it will be obvious that the motor 55 is controlled by its switch, and that the motor is electrically connected with any suitable source of current, by a conductor 23. When the motor is running and the parts are connected together as shown, the tufts i of bristles will be rotated through the medium of the worm and its gears 6, with the result the brush head can be conveniently held in the mouth at'various places to bring about a thorough cleaning of the teeth with minimum effort on the part of the user.

It might be mentioned that the detachable association of the flexible shaft and the flexible casing thereof with respect to the handle allows ready removal of the brush therefrom, merely by unscrewing the cap nut 22 so that the brush can be used in the same manner as an ordinary brush if necessary or desirable. The detachable feature will prove very desirable, in the event the motor should fail or current to drive the same is not available.

It is thought from the foregoing description that the advantages and novel features of the invention will be readily apparent.

It is to be understood that changes may be made in the construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, provided that such changes fall within the scope of the appended claim.

What I claim is:

A motor driven toothbrush comprising a handled head including a fiat elongated body having a shallow chamber therein extending longitudinally thereof and opening through the top of the body, said chamber being provided with scalloped side walls providing rounded recesses, a cover plate shaped to fit the body for disposal flush with the s de and end walls of the chamber for closing the latter, screws extending through the cover plate in rows adjacent to the sides thereof and threaded in the side walls of the chamber for securing the cover plate to the body, said cover plate and the bottom wall of the chamber having bearing openings therein arranged in rows upon diametrically opposite sides of the longitudinal centers thereof for registration with each other, stub shafts having ends mounted in the bearing openings of the bottom Wall and relatively large bearing journals on their opposite ends and mounted in the openings of the cover plate for rotation of the shafts, a worm gear for each shaft and fixed thereto for disposal in spaced rows and extending into the rounded recesses, a shaft extending between the rows of gears, a worm portion onthe shaft and meshing with the worm gears for rotating the same, said journals having sockets therein, tufts of bristles fixed within the sockets, and means for rotating the shaft.

NEAL ELMORE. 

